Welcome to Copper #37!
As temperatures topped triple digits in much of the US, I flashed back to the days when I kept physical media in my car. In the cassette era, you could end up with a hopelessly-stretched-out tape if you played it after it lay in the sun. (Remember seeing unfurled cassettes in the gutter by the side of the road, tape flapping uselessly in the breeze? I think that sight inspired those stupid wavy-armed inflatables at car dealerships.) CDs could and would delaminate, flake, crack, and grenade your player. God help you if one blew up in the bowels of a changer!
Moist heat, dry heat---did it matter? I don't think so, but the blazing sunshine I knew in Florida is nothing compared to the searing UV of a sunny day at 5,000 feet. Bald heads beware!
These days I completely avoid the issue of heat-damaged physical media in my car. Solid state storage? Nope. I don't drive all that much, and I simply listen to the radio.
Retro, no?
I'm pleased to announce a new column, and the return of one of our original columns. Roy Hall--- founder/principal of Music Hall, world-traveler, curmudgeon, connoisseur of Scotch whisky---will be contributing Music'al Notes. Roy will be telling tales of his adventures in the audio biz over the last several decades---or whatever he damn well feels like telling. His stories may be a little saltier than what you're used to reading in Copper---but that's Roy, and travel isn't always Facebook-friendly. I hope you enjoy Roy's stories, the first of which appears here.
Seth Godin is a New York Times-bestselling author and a guru to an entire generation of marketers. Seth's also an audiophile whom we're fortunate to call a friend---a friend who was not only instrumental in the birth of Copper, but named it, to boot. Seth contributed his column Hobgoblin to our first eight issues; lately, he's been tied up with new books, seminars, and an alt-MBA program...in other words, standard Seth stuff.
Our readership has grown exponentially since those early issues, and those columns aren't that easy to access (it's on my To Do list, believe me). So, for the next eight issues, I'm happy to be reprinting Seth's Hobgoblins. If we're lucky, I'll be able to twist his arm for more. Here's Seth's first column.
We've got remarkable work from our usual crew: Professor Schenbeck writes about the light and effervescent (music, not Champagne); Dan Schwartz offers a contrarian view on net neutrality; Richard Murison writes about the pesky refusal of real life to be quantified; Duncan Taylor presents another remarkable musical group, Elephant Wrecking Ball; Anne E. Johnson is back with a piece about indie artist Adrian Crowley and an impressive survey of recordings of the music of Henry Purcell. The inimitable Woody Woodward remembers The Monkees; and I write about artists with multiple personalities and ephemeral things .
Industry News tells of still more changes at McIntosh Group; Jim Smith looks at a potential controversy; and Ken Kessler argues that music has been on a downward trajectory since 1969. We have the conclusion of John Seetoo's excellent interview with mastering engineer Steve Hoffman, and wrap the issue with another lovely Parting Shot from Paul McGowan.
Until next issue---stay cool!
Cheers, Leebs.
